Morocco Travel Guide
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Morocco Travel Guide Overview
Morocco packs a lot of exotic into an easy to get to and manageable package. Many people choose to explore Tangier on a day trip from Spain or Gibraltar and that’s definitely a fascinating day, but if you can push on even a little further your effort will be rewarded. Morocco has a fascinating culture that can mostly be seen in cartoonish ways on a bus tour of Tangier, but those tours are cheap and much better than nothing. You’ve heard of the huge city of Casablanca because of the movie, but just because the name is famous doesn’t mean it’s worth visiting. Consider avoiding Casablanca unless you’ve got a lot of time in Morocco.
What To Do
If you arrive in Tangier, get yourself to the train station and go to Rabat as a great introduction to the country without all the hassles. It’s a compact and polite version of some of the other cities and it only takes a few hours by train to get there.
Going further in, or if you arrive by air, Fès and Marrakech are the major draws. They are both somewhat similar so visiting both is a bit redundant if your time is limited. Both have famous and sprawling market districts in their Medinas (old cities) where you can visit tanneries and carpet makers as well as buy food and spices alongside bootleg DVDs and watches. If you visit on your own you’ll be hassled by the vendors from the second you are in their sight, and if you hire an inexpensive local guide you’ll avoid that part but will be taken on a fascinating insiders tour of the cities that comes with being a mandatory captive audience in the tour guide’s affiliate craft shops. Both methods are a bit exhausting, but amazing and worthwhile at the same time.
The Atlas Mountains are another popular destination that offers a completely different experience. These mountain ranges are great for group guided adventure tours where you can balance incredible natural scenery with an insightful look at culture and traditions in small villages and settlements.
Getting There
Many people will arrive in Morocco by ferry from Spain or Gibraltar. Tarifa is the closest and by far the best place from which to leave Spain as it’s a small and charming town on its own. If you are coming from anywhere but Spain you’ll want to book a flight into Casablanca’s Mohammed V International Airport. Then jump on a train right away to anywhere else.
Where To Stay
There are hostels in various Moroccan cities, including Fès and Marrakech, but prices tend to be fairly low in normal Fès hotels and Marrakech hotels so a private room may be worth getting.